We’re approaching the end of October, and the weather has started to turn… if you haven’t already raided your area punkin’ patch, now’s the time to take care of that… oh, and any German festivities that might tickle your fancy. Let’s start this week with the big “upset”, where West Virginia hosted and halted the […]

While everyone expected Baylor and Oklahoma to be the marquee matchup in the conference, it looks more and more like the Mountaineers’ face off with Kansas State might just be the game that determines conference championship and a possible college playoff berth (more later).

The Wildcats, led, of course by their great American coach (so named because his is one of the signatures on the Declaration of Independence) managed to do what happens every year few people manage; go into Norman and defeat an overrated Oklahoma Sooner team, handing Stoops his second loss.

Also in the Big 12-2, Texas managed to field enough of a team to beat Iowa State, and T. Boone Pickens University was mauled by a TCU team rebounding from their first loss.

God’s Conference had a few games that turned out to be interesting, including a Georgia win over the Arkansas RazorBerts minus Todd “Writer’s Cramp” Gurley for the second straight week. The Bulldogs are really impressive, in my opinion; losing their best player and continuing to roll unabated… wait, why does that sound familiar?

Also in the SEC, we were reminded that Texas A&M’s best win was a blowout of a South Carolina team that had no business with their pre-season ranking; as Alabama showed the Aggies what happens when an elephant steps on a collie. I’d link to pictures and stuff, but it ain’t pretty y’all.

Big Blue Nation probably didn’t see the loss to LSU, since it’s now officially Drake basketball season in the Bluegrass.

If you’re reading this on Monday morning, a) thanks and b) it’s probably likely that Will Muschamp has been fired by now. After an embarrassing loss to Missouri (!) at home (!!), his seat has gone from hot to (spoiler alert) whatever happened to Bob at the end of the Walking Dead last night. Here’s all you need to know about the Muschamp tenure: Missouri had 119 yards and beat the Gators by 29 points. Yeah, it was a great day to be an alumni…

The Sun Devils handled Stanford out in the Valley of the Sun… remind me again why the Cardinal were highly touted this year? The Utes had a June Cleaver moment, winning in Corvallis. In the most “Duuuuuuudddde” game of the week, Southern Cal beat CoLOLorado. Plenty of great seats available for this one. UCLA held off Cal… we may talk more on this later in the week.

Huge week this week for Michigan, who managed not to a) play an injured quarterback and b) not lose a game. Two weeks in a row, guys… Celebrate!

Have you been paying attention?

The Wolverines’ “Little Brother Who Has Owned Them Recently” found themselves in an early dogfight with Indiana’s Hoosiers, and were even down in the first quarter. Eventually, though, Sparty managed to blow the doors off of the team from Bloomington… lady, should that really have been a surprise?

Purdue and Minnesota was quite an interesting game- again, it’s great to see other B1G schools be competitive, and we’re always pulling for Purdue (now that they’re in the other division). There was a bit of an awkward moment at the end there, though… to be fair, all coaches do kinda’ look alike.

The game also gave us the catch of the week, Coach’s edition… a category that I’m not sure we’ve ever previously used.

Nebraska discovered that Northwestern, in spite of their efforts to be all “goth” and stuff, still wears down against a smash-mouth running game; luckily the Huskers have the best running back in the conference (there, there, Melvin… you’re very pretty too).

The play of the week comes from the Bee One Gee, as Nebraska’s Tommy Armstrong goes Cardale Jones for an (almost) score:

Wheeee!!

In the ACC, Clemson didn’t Clem, son. Somehow, they managed to hold off a late Boston College rally on the road with their phenom QB on the sidelines. Carolina was graded on a curve and slid by Georgia Tech, while Syracuse handled their business against Wake Forrest. Virginia Tech continues to do no one any favors, and in-state partner Virginia fell to Duke. In football. I know, right? Don’t look now, but the Blue Devils are 6-1 on the season, and are bowl eligible.

War Chant changes you, man…

The ACC Game of the week was the national Game Of The Week, as undefeated Notre Dame and undefeated Florida State met in Tallahassee. The game, as you probably know, came down to the wire after a forgettable half by Jameis Winston. The play that everyone’s talking about is the called “pass interference” on what looked like the game winner for the Irish… and we may take a look at it later in the week in our “Officially Speaking” series.

Let’s talk a bit about the new-fangled “College Football Playoff”, shall we? It’s quite possible that we end up with 4 teams from 2 conferences in the first iteration of “the new fairness”. For the sake of argument, let’s imagine that a team from the state of Mississippi wins the SEC championship, and is undefeated. It’s possible, then, that you’d also have at least one other SEC West team with one loss to this undefeated team, and you know that the media would push for them to be included.

If Florida State and Notre Dame also both win out, then the Irish’s only loss is to the undefeated ‘Noles… so two SEC and two ACC teams are in, while the B12, the P12 and the B1G are left out in the cold.

Hey, what else do the ACC and SEC have in common, other than southern roots? Well, both have “networks” in partnership/ownership of ESPN… who also has the television rights to the entire College Football Playoff and control the national narrative about college sports. I’m sure there won’t be a problem, though…

We’ve got some rivalries this weekend- Michigan comes off the bye to face Sparty; the line as of this moment is 17.5. Rutgers continues their welcome party with a trip to Lincoln (great people… seriously), and Holgerson returns to Stillwater in another “defense optional” game. Old Miss heads to Death Valley, while Southern Cal will square off against the Utes.

And, of course, it’s “White Out Week” at Happy Valley when the Buckeyes travel to the east to face the Nittany Lions. We’ve got you covered hereabouts.

As always, we’ll end with a look at The Best Damn Band In The Land and their tribute to classic rock:

I don’t know what you did on your “Buckeye Idle Saturday”, but I headed into the great wilderness and didn’t get to watch any college football. I know, right? BUT, you can bet that I have opinions and thoughts on another weekend of the greatest sport on the planet, so here goes… Oh, and your […]

Texas Tech fell to the Mountaineers, but managed to look sexy in the process (as always) with plays like this candidate for “catch of the week”:

Layin’ down on the job

We’ll get to the B12 Game Of The Week in a few… but let’s head over to the PAC-12 first. Stanford overwhelmed Washington State… see what happens when you play defense? Washington defeated Cal, while UCLA lost to the Oregon Ducks. DUcks. With a “U”. Not spelled any other way. The Bruins’ home loss was made worse by the the evident frustration between the staff AND by the fact that cross-town rival Southern Cal managed to upset tenth ranked Arizona on the road as well. Fun fact- in the 18 PAC12 games played thus far, the road team has won 14 of them. Wild wild west, indeed.

Arizona’s loss was the end of a great day for Michigan fans, who certainly couldn’t have wanted to put up with yet another Wolverine home loss combined with a Rich Rod victory. We’ll be discussing the blatant homerism splendid officiating that cost the Nittany Lions the game in Ann Arbor a bit later this week in our “Officially Speaking” Series, in case you don’t want to wade through pages and pages of BWI forum posts to get the low down.

For now, though, I’ll add some quick thoughts on the “Under The Lights” game: 1) Both offensive lines are in for a world of trouble against Ohio State and Michigan State this year, 2) Dave Brandon should have given a refund on the way out for the “Football like substance” that was not present in the Big House and 3) Why is Brady Hoke committed to killing his quarterbacks?

Iowa pounded Indiana, Minnesota knocked Northwestern off the top of the Western Division’s leaderboard, and the next Illini that tackles Melvin Gordon will be the first. The most exciting game of the week was a potential “Purdue Harbor” for Michigan State as Coach Hazell’s team played their best game of the season and still ended up two touchdowns behind the Spartans. Wearing neon yellow to honor cancer survivors (I still like the idea that they were trying to trick MSU by looking like the only team to have beaten them this year), Purdue had a late turnover that sealed the deal for the Spartans. Dantonio’s team also submitted an entry for “Tackle Of The Week: Freestyle Division”, but our judges had to disqualify it as unoriginal.

Joe “Turkey” Jones Smiles

This week in “They Supposed To Be ACC”: Miami inducted new members into its hall of fame in front of another great Coral Gables crowd. Florida State won, but has every reason not to be excited about the victory or the matchup against undefeated Notre Dame this coming week, in spite of the Irish’s narrow win (!) against North Carolina. Our friend Vico highlighted this matchup thusly:

As mentioned, Mississippi is also undefeated and finds themselves #3 in the nation after their beatdown of Texas A&M… although some people saw that coming a mile away. The Egg Bowl this year could approach 2006 Ohio State/Michigan levels of excitement, folks.

Even though Todd Gurley was a scratch from their matchup against Missouri (writers cramp), the other Bulldogs managed to hold the Tigers scoreless for the first time in a number of seasons. I’m guessing that the team was inspired to play harder for their “lost” leader, or that the Mizzou fans just didn’t support their teams hard enough. Probably the latter.

Since “setting football back” seems to be a theme this week, Florida and LSU followed the OU/Texas, Michigan/PSU, and Arkansas/Bama games with their slap fight crap fest. Seriously, there was a slap fight, this week’s “Hit Of The Week: Oscar Candidate Division” winner:

World Cup Fever!!!

Later this week we may take a closer look at the undefeated Baylor/TCU matchup, particularly since (like the UM/PSU game) officiating seemed to be a factor in the final decision. Nonetheless, the Bears managed to overcome an enormous deficit and remain unbeaten; however this fantastic play is our Play Of The Wheeeeeee!k:

Ah, Trickeration!

Mount Union? Still undefeated.

Nebraska returns to action against Northwestern this week, and Alabama hosts Texas A&M. Bert welcomes the Bulldawgs, TBPU travels to Texas Christian, Stanford heads to Tempe, Oklahoma hosts KSU, and the battle of former or soon to be suspended quarterbacks will be on as Notre Dame travels to Tallahassee.

And, of course, Ohio State returns to action against Rutgers at 3:30 on an ABC/ESPN station near you. Winner gets to be the “Real Scarlet”; we’ll have all of the coverage up and running for you all week long as we get to know another new B1G Brother.

Since we had to manage yet another week with no TBDBITL, we’ll wrap up with something that I absolutely wasn’t doing this weekend, but would totally love to try if I could get my insurance agent to buy off:

]]>College Football’s 2014 Resolution of MOAR SPEED AND OFFENSE gets off to a roaring start on New Year’s day with the potential of a BCS Shootout!

UCF (11-1, 8-0 American) vs. Baylor (11-1, 8-1 Big 12)

Wednesday, January 1st, 8:30 PM EST ESPN

The History: The Fiesta Bowl has been a long standing tradition for Arizona football fans since 1971 and has seen some of the best moments in sports history. The Fiesta has been a major part of the BCS era, hosting an NCAA record seven national championship games. Over the last few years, the bowl has become popular for the amount of trick plays that have lead to wins. From Urban Meyer’s 2005 Utah squad, to the 2007 Boise State trick plays, there is no doubt that this bowl has been known as an exciting game to watch every single season.

Let’s relive some of those great moments. Starting with the three Boise State trick plays that beat Oklahoma…

And how about this good ol’ defensive stand on 4th and goal to give the Buckeyes the championship in double OT in 2003…

Buckeye Connection: As witnessed above, the Fiesta Bowl has been good to the Buckeyes. Ohio State has played in the Fiesta six times, defeating Notre Dame (2006), Miami (2003 Championship), Kansas State (2004) and Pittsburgh (1984). The Buckeyes have lost to Texas (2009) and Penn State (1980) in the Fiesta Bowl. Current Head Coach Urban Meyer defeated Ohio State as the head coach of Florida in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl National Championship. Meyer also lead Utah to a 35-7 win over Pitt in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl.

The Buckeyes faced UCF last season, lead by current quarterback Blake Bortles in the second game of the year, winning 31-16. Braxton Miller rushed for three touchdowns on a then career high 27 carries. He was the first OSU quarterback in over 34 years to run for three scores.

Despite not playing each other since 1982, a lot of talk during the season from the media and fans pitted Baylor against Ohio State as a matchup they’d like to see at the end of the season. Ohio State and Baylor have only played twice against each other, with OSU holding a 2-0 record against the Bears.

UCF Scouting Report: Blake Bortles might be the most under-rated quarterback in the country and has quietly led his team with timely throw after timely throw. His squad offensively has been lead by his offensive prowess. On the season, the junior has tossed 22 touchdowns and compiled over 3200 yards in the air. He has been locked in the last 7 games, completing 70% of his passes. A huge part though of the Knight offense will be the running game. They’d like to keep the ball out of the hands of the explosive offense. Called upon to do that will be Storm Johnson, who averaged over 5 yards a carry this season in the backfield. A lot of the offensive playbook will consist of time of possession plays. Johnson will be called upon to move the chains to set up the play action.

Despite a good season numbers wise, the question going into Wednesday’s game will be the Knight defense. UCF only gave up 20 points a game this year, but they only feature two seniors on the two deep and haven’t faced a high possession offense like Baylor this season

Baylor Scouting Report: Everyone knows the story of Baylor, the team that was destined for a national championship berth, while changing the game of college football one game at a time. Their high possession offense that mastered the big play, torched teams all season long. Coach Art Briles looked to three year backup Bryce Petty to step in and lead his team, and the junior lead his team to the schools first conference title and appearance in a BCS bowl game. Petty finished the season with the second best quarterback rating in the country, the most big plays, 41 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Despite not being named as a finalist for the Heisman, he is easily one of the most important college football players to his team.

What has made Briles’ offense work has been the balanced attack and the big play ability of Lache Seastrunk. The junior averaged nearly 8 yards per carry and rushed for over 1000 yards despite having only one game with 20 or more carries and missing two games. He will be key against what is considered a questionable UCF defensive line.

The Baylor offense is so prolific that if the Bear defense forces one or two turnovers, that could easily be the difference.

But Seriously: Get your six shooter out, because this is going to be a good old fashioned shoot-out. The Knights offense has had some big plays of it’s own. Remember the catch of the year from Blake Bortles to J.J. Worton against Temple?

This is going to be the offensive fan’s dream game to open up 2014.

Our Picks:

Eric: Baylor

Jason: UCF

Mali: Baylor

Patrick: Baylor

WVA: Baylor

Scott: Baylor

Charles: Baylor

Joe: Baylor

Ken: Baylor

Prediction: Baylor’s offense will be way too much for UCF’s defense and with a few properly timed defensive plays from Baylor, this game will be over by halftime. Art Briles could be coaching in his last game as the head coach at Baylor. And this could be the end of one of the most short lived impressive runs in college football.

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/tbbc-preview-fiesta-bowl-ucf-vs-baylor.html/feed1The Week That Were: 11.30.13http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/the-week-that-were-11-30-13.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-week-that-were-11-30-13
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/the-week-that-were-11-30-13.html#commentsMon, 02 Dec 2013 12:54:44 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=40918As we enter the last week of college football’s regular season, this song is running through my mind. Plus, I was on #TeamCourtney from the moment she got on stage with Bruce. If the pounds of fried turkey and sweet potato pie that you ate on Thursday didn’t give you a heart attack, this week’s […]

Rivalries, by nature, raise the blood pressure of those involved… if they didn’t it would be called a “friendly tiff” or an “untimely spat”. Add the magnitude of what was on the line for some teams, and you’ve surely got the makings for one of the most memorable weekends of the year, if not all times.

Kudos to Coach Hoke and his team in their preparation and gameplan, and for the decision to go for it all at the end. It didn’t work out, but it was a great call. Kudos to Devin Gardner as well- after a rough year, and on a bad wheel, he really put it all on the line for his team. I’m not gloating, but that’s how the game is meant to be played… win or lose, you leave everything on the field.

But this amazing weekend started well before kickoff in Ann Arbor. Thursday’s rivalry action in the Egg Bowl saw an injured quarterback enter into Mississippi State legend status, leading his team to an overtime win with a touchdown run on fourth and 1 from near the goal-line. Sometimes, gutsy calls work out for the home team. Also on Thursday, Texas fans saw another big win… one big enough to celebrate with a shirt and a Mack Brown contract extension? Yeah, probably not.

Plowin’ Under Some Corn

Friday’s game that should be called “Farmageddon” but isn’t saw the start of the Christmas season in Lincoln Nebraska. At least that had to be what the Huskers thought, since One Weisman was enough to do a ton of damage to the Blackshirt defense. That Nebraska lost was surprising enough, but for me the really interesting part of the game was the media response during and after. Coach Pelini has been on a hot seat, and you could sense his frustration even during the typical halftime “let’s chat on your way to the locker room” interview.

Essentially, he says “look, you’re making a story out of something that I have no control over, and your decision to do so is hurting our players and our team. If the people in charge want to fire me, they can.”

Friday’s other games were well worth the time spent not shopping to watch them as well. LSU managed to overcome a deficit and hand Bert his latest loss, making him winless in the SEC and winless since a certain karmic tweet. Maybe she was right…

The nightcap was Oregon and Oregon State playing in a game that seemed to have been sponsored by Crayola… although I will say that I love the “let’s both wear our home uniforms” idea, and wish that The Game could return to that as well. Interesting that the story from that game was that Oregon won a close matchup in a gutsy Civil War game, and not “the Ducks barely won… they suck” as other teams’ successes received.

Georgia managed to tape enough of their players together to hold of Georgia Tech in a game that had a ton more points than anyone could have ever imagined. Kentucky lost the “Kissin’ Cousins” game against Tennessee; let the “Wait ‘Till Basketball” chants ring throughout the bluegrass.

The Old Ball Coach managed to defeat Clemson for yet another time, which is what I guess happens when Clowney decides to try. The Clemson loss certainly didn’t help Florida State’s resume; although the beating that they put on Florida more than covered for it, I’m sure.

Also, Missouri beat Johnny Football and Texas A&M following a rather pedestrian set of numbers from Monsieur Football. The Tigers have clinched their berth into the National Title SEC Championship Game, but we’ll talk more about that in a minute.

Their foe in Atlanta would be decided by the Iron Bowl, as for only the third or fourth time Alabama and Auburn met with both being ranked in the top 5. Ain’t that cute? At any rate, Alabama was not able to exert its will throughout the game, including several missed or blocked field goal attempts. Auburn had the “alligator blood” and wouldn’t go away, tying the game with 32 seconds to play. After several plays attempting to get to field goal range, Nick Saban chose to attempt a 57 yard field goal with the final second on the clock, thinking that the worst that could happen would be a missed field goal and overtime. Boy was he wrong:

If you haven’t seen the replay, here’s a better look at the chaos.

Wow. I think that that may just beat the Hail Flutie for all time fantastic finishes.

Couple of quick thoughts- Do we get to be vocal about St. Nicolas’ decision to try a field goal here after having so little success throughout the game? Even to the point of passing up an easier attempt and getting stuffed in the process? If people are going to (wrongly) question Coach Hoke’s decision to go for two against Ohio State, then we need to point directly at the hubris that Saban brought upon his team.

And now, it begins- the “Auburn should jump Ohio State” arguments. Hopefully by now you know where I stand- Worry about what you can control, let the rest worry about itself. That being said, the “They’ve beaten Alabama and (may have) won the SEC!!!” argument to put them into the title game has one huge hole in it… and that hole is the Missouri Tigers.

Here’s the logic: If the SEC Championship is won by an Auburn team that lost by two scores to an LSU team that finished with three losses, they should jump Ohio State with no losses… since they’ll have beaten one loss Missouri. Leaving the fact that OSU will have just beaten a one loss MSU team out of this discussion, the problem comes in that Missouri wouldn’t be given the same opportunity if they win in Atlanta.

No one is saying that a one loss Missouri team that only fell in overtime to a much stronger South Carolina team should be in the National Title game if they win… because Missouri isn’t “real SEC” yet. Nope, they’re still that team that couldn’t do anything in the B12, and hasn’t built up the media hype machine that LSU/Bama/Auburn/Florida/Georgia have.

So you can see that this argument is more about the “new hotness” of Auburn’s big miracle win (the second in two weeks) and not about “what’s right”. Just wait until the final coaches’ votes are made public to see the politics in action… maybe we’ll get a great TV special about it.

Gleeful

“But next year, things will be better!” Not a chance. As I’ve said before, this is part of the fun and frustration of college sports; but it’s just a different argument. Let’s say that this year is next year, and everyone wins out. Who’s your fourth team? FSU/OSU/SEC Champ are in, but what one-loss team is next? Oklahoma State? Baylor? Alabama? The argument won’t be about who’s number two, it’s who’s number four… and it will be just as heated as it is now.

So now we prepare for the last week of the year… “Championship Week” for everyone but the B12. Stanford and Arizona State meet up for Rosey Real Estate, Big Choke Bob and TBPU renew their Bedlam, and we’ve even got Friday Night Championship MACtion. The Tiger Brawl will determine who gets to campaign hardest for the championship game, Florida State meets Duke in something meaningful that doesn’t involve Krzyzewskis, and there may be something going on in Indianapolis.

Until the excitement kicks off though, enjoy the calm before the storm. See you next week.

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/the-week-that-were-11-30-13.html/feed1The Week That Were: 11.23.13http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/the-week-that-were-11-23-13.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-week-that-were-11-23-13
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/the-week-that-were-11-23-13.html#commentsMon, 25 Nov 2013 12:54:37 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=40644Happy Thanksgiving week! Here’s a little music to get you ready for Thursday… and another ditty to prep you for Saturday. You know what’s interesting about college sports? Call it “the circle of life”, call it “karma” (@FightOnTwist pointed out earlier in November, Manziel is an amazing quarterback, but his interceptions often lead to opposing […]

You know what’s interesting about college sports? Call it “the circle of life”, call it “karma” (j/k, don’t do that) call it “Brent Musberger’s Vegas Connections”, but the fact is that things just seem to work themselves out.

In spite of efforts to create story lines and “narrative”, teams win and teams lose and everyone gets to play in a bowl. Well, almost everyone.

It’s like I’ve been saying all season- “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” Play well, win the game you’re in, and let the chips fall where they may.

Sure, it’s great that you’re averaging a metric bucketload of points every week, but when you don’t hit that target what will you do? Case in point: Texas A&M, Oregon, and Baylor combined for 41 points in their three losses. yesterday. That’s less than Oregon and Baylor were each averaging per game.

As the prophet said, “Everyone’s got a plan until they get hit in the mouth”.

The Ducks went down in spectacular fashion, giving Rich Rodriguez a home upset of a nationally ranked team that will surely a) earn him an extension and b) give Michi1gAAn fans eternal heartburn. Not only did Mariotti throw his first interception of the year in the game as a result of that great play you see above, but he then tossed his second on the way to a 42-16 loss in Tuscon. It’s not that the Ducks were without flash and sizzle… it’s just that they never found a rhythm and were unable to play Stanford football.

One Of Those Nights

Baylor came into Stillwater not having won there in forever… and left the same way. The nation’s top offensive team was unable to deal with the different looks that TBPU gave them, and struggled to get their high octane offense going.

In addition, their vaunted defensive front didn’t create any consistent pressure or stop Oklahoma State’s bigger specialists from making play after play. I guess the Lord helps those who help their Chelf.

As for Johnny Freaking Football, he and the Aggies continued their trend of underperforming against top competition. As our friend @FightOnTwist pointed out earlier in November, Manziel is an amazing quarterback, but his interceptions often lead to opposing teams’ scores; and other than the win in Tuscaloosa, he’s been pretty pedestrian versus teams that are nationally ranked.

Against LSU on Saturday, his one TD pass was coupled with only 1g completions and two interceptions as the Aggies fell again to LSU by a 34-10 score. I guess you could say he got beaten like a… well… yeah.

Imagine How Muschamp Feels

I’d highlight that as the “passing lowlight” of the week, but that honor goes to the quarterback at FCS Georgia Southern. In a “Braxton Miller against Illinois in 2011” performance, Ellison only attempted three passes and completed none of them. Yet, like Miller, his team won behind 429 yards rushing. Oh, and did I mention that this happened in The Swamp, and that the Gators paid for the privilege?

Unlike Florida, other schools were able to butcher their sacrificial lambs in relative peace and quiet. Alabama made short work of Chattanooga after only leading 7-0 after the first quarter. Florida State put a 80-14 whuppin on Idaho, and North Carolina went from winning 14-13 after one to playing with a running clock in the final quater of an 80-20 victory.

Clemson clownstomped The Citadel, South Carolina “survived” Coastal Carolina 70-10, and Georgia beat something called a “Kentucky” 59-17. Sad news out of that game, though, as Bulldog QB Aaron Murray will be out for the season with a knee injury.

Let’s check in on the Miami Hurricanes as they get ready to celebrate Senior Day in Coral Gables:

Parking? Still A Nightmare

In the B1G, we find ourselves in awe of the Minnesota/Wisconsin game. Not only have both teams had amazing seasons under new(ish) head coaches, but the rivalry for Paul Bunion’s Axe is always incredible. This year, the Badgers karmic run continued, and they continue to possess the large woodcraft implement. I’ve also been informed that this photo is indeed a thing for the Golden Gophers this season, and I pray that it’s not a photoshop (if it is, let us know in the comments)

Flair For The Dramatic

The Spartans continued Northwestern’s “year from hell”, and punched their ticket to Indianapolis with a win in Evanston. Remember what we said earlier about sometimes things just not going your way? Since the second half of the Ohio State game, that’s been the status quo for the Wildcats, and it was plenty evident on Saturday.

Penn State lost in overtime to Nebraska in Happy Valley as the Lions’ Fricken Kicker shanked a field goal attempt at the end. You may remember that he had some issues in the four overtime win over TTUN… at least he has one more year to get things squared away.

ThuJone Speaks Truth

Congratulations to Coach Beckman on Illinois first B1G win, on the road at Purdue. Gotta start somewhere, right?

Which brings us to That Team Up North. In what’s come to be a too familiar situation for fans from Ann Arbor, Brady Hoke’s team started fast and took a 21-7 lead into the locker room at the half. However, they wouldn’t score again and dropped to 3-4 in the B1G with the loss to Iowa.

TTUN only managed around 150 total yards for the game, and gave up 400 to a Hawkeye team that has never been confused with an offensive juggernaut. It’s been a long season, and on Saturday it will get infinitely worse /foreshadowing.

Let’s end where we started, on the Left Coast. First, SDSU upset Boise State, which certainly screws with the “OSU Weak Strength Of Schedule” narrative.

Sad Panda

Washington managed to jump on the Beavers of Oregon State early and continued to roll in a “Northwest Championship Tournament” match. The Pirate Cap’n led Washington State to an “upset” victory over Utah, who probably didn’t play the same kind of Stanford football that they did when they beat Stanford.

Los Angeles’ teams split on the day; the Ed Orgeron Experience rolled on against CoLOLorado, while the Bruins dropped a home game to the Arizona State team that will face Stanford in the conference title game if they manage to beat Arizona on Saturday.

Hawkeyes! Huskers! Hardware!

That’s right- in addition to being thankful for all the blessings that we have, this week is a great one for college football fans, as rivalries are settled for yet another year. UCLA will meet USC, Washington and WSU face off in the Apple Cup, and Mississippi State meets Old Miss for the Egg Bowl. Nebraska and Iowa square off in the “Tractor Challenge”, Oregon and toOSU will renew The Civil War, and the Seminoles look to put the Gators out of their misery.

Carolina/Duke will be more than just a hoops rivalry this year, Purdue and Indiana fight for the Old Oaken Bucket, Clemson and South Carolina match up for pride and as two top ten teams. Finally, Arizona and Arizona State, Kansas and Kansas State, and Tennessee at Kentucky, and Northwestern/Illinois round out our huge slate of games.

That is, except for the two that Buckeye fans will be paying the most attention to. #4 Auburn and #1 Alabama’s 2013 edition of the Iron Bowl may impact if Ohio State is playing for the crystal football in January, so… War Eagle.

But this is THE week, and is the time when we remember that there’s only one thing that matters. Go Bucks-

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/the-week-that-were-11-23-13.html/feed2Wednesday Night Rumble: Winds of Changehttp://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/wednesday-night-rumble-winds-of-change.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wednesday-night-rumble-winds-of-change
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/wednesday-night-rumble-winds-of-change.html#commentsWed, 20 Nov 2013 21:00:18 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=40436The polls are changing. A win at Illinois that left Buckeye Nation questioning everything. Saturday night brought us the end of the Stanford story. We’ll round up all the mass hysteria and make sense of it. It’s Wednesday, let’s rumble! Bye week hangover Despite racking up 60 points and Carlos Hyde having a career day […]

]]>The polls are changing. A win at Illinois that left Buckeye Nation questioning everything. Saturday night brought us the end of the Stanford story. We’ll round up all the mass hysteria and make sense of it. It’s Wednesday, let’s rumble!

Bye week hangover

Despite racking up 60 points and Carlos Hyde having a career day on the ground, the general consensus nationally was that the Buckeyes somehow “escaped” in their battle with the Illini. I’ll be the first to admit that this was clearly not the best performance we have seen from the Buckeyes in 2013, but it was hardly if ever in doubt. Oh, and they put up 60 points.

Carlos Hyde… grown man.

There were a lot of factors in play working against the good guys on Saturday.

Out due to injury, Joshua Perry and Curtis Grant left a gaping hole in the linebacker group. Joey Bosa’s injury took another starter off the field for the Silver Bullets.

Offensively things never seemed to click as timing was off and Braxton Miller seemed to get out of sorts in the middle stages of the game. He was also getting hit hard by the Illini defense, once illegally. Jack Mewhort missed some time during those same middle portions of the game while they looked at a tweak in his knee.

You can’t discount the mood in general, either. The stadium was half full, giving it an almost sleepy feel from the start. I hear you, that shouldn’t matter. But add in that they were near 30 point favorites who are still kids that read their own hype, mix in a week layoff and it is a ripe situation for a letdown. I think it became obvious when they went up 28-0 early that the foot came directly off the gas pedal and the machine was switched into cruise control.

The opportunity for this type of “let down” game was present at Purdue a few weeks ago. Urban Meyer sensed it and called on strength coach Mickey Maroti to wake things up in the locker room. Whatever the attempts where this week to shake the cobwebs they clearly didn’t work.

And I feel your pain, truly. You want this team to be a juggernaut, to absolutely lay waste to everything in their path. I feel the pain you do because I want that same thing. Unfortunately we didn’t get it this week. Wat we got was a 25 point win over a bad team.

Now before you go jumping off a bridge there are two things to remember about the game at Illinois if you are doubting this teams chances to win a BCS game or even as national title contenders: You won’t see this type of lackluster laze again because 1. Urban Meyer won’t allow it, and 2. Saturday is the home finale for the seniors and then the show goes on the road for The Game in Ann Arbor. Motivation and hype will not be in short supply.

The winds of change

The AP poll was released on Sunday afternoon and, as we thought might happen for a few weeks now, the Baylor Bears jumped the Buckeyes moving them back to number 4. The good news on this is that the AP poll has no bearing on the BCS. It is not included in the BCS computers “human poll” factor.

Time for this little show to end. Thanks for coming, but you can go home now.

I still don’t really understand how this happened. Baylor won 63-34, the Buckeyes won 60-35. Baylor trailed 14-0 early, the Illini never came any closer than within 12 of Ohio State. The Buckeyes were on the road in a stale environment while Baylor was in Cowboys Stadium under the bright lights of national television. Yet somehow the Baylor victory over Texas Tech was more impressive and worthy of jumping Ohio State in Associated Press voters eyes?

You can say that it’s all bologna and there is no bias against Ohio State nationally. But when you lay out all the facts it sure is hard to not think someone is out for them.

While the AP has no impact on the BCS, the computer generated super poll nearly reflects the AP’s feelings as the Buckeyes hold the narrowest of margins possible to remain in the third slot ahead of Baylor. The margin (.887 for Ohio State to .886 for Baylor) is so thin that it is an utter certainty that should Baylor beat 10th ranked Oklahoma State this weekend the Bears, on the tails of a top ten road win, will pass up Ohio State in the BCS.

Alas, there is good news fans. Oklahoma State is playing good football and sits at 9-1 and is quickly rising up the polls. The game Saturday night in Stillwater is one that all scarlet and grey eyes will be glued to.

Of course, it’s all a moot (moo?) point if Florida State and/or Alabama remain perfect. The nation and ESPN want the Noles and the Tide in Pasadena for all the marbles. And they’ll get it provided these two keep winning regardless what Buckeye or Baylor Bear fans think about it or what their records are.

Jesse and the Cardinal

This guy… Don’t get me started

One of the reasons I refuse to watch ESPN unless it is broadcasting a game I must see is because I don’t want to and can’t stand to hear their talking heads spew their ever changing narratives and keep forwarding the company agenda, whatever it may be that night or as it pertains to whatever particular sport. In the last two weeks The Bachelor, aka Jesse Palmer, has continued to spout off the most ridiculous soundbite that has ever been spouted and has thus proved my stance against the four letter network to be accurate and just. Jesse couldn’t stop saying how “when Stanford plays like Stanford, they’re one of the two best teams in the country”.

Even when a someone like Twilight, aka David Pollock, reminded The Bachelor about Stanford being beaten by a lowly Utah team a month ago, he repeats his ridiculous opinion about Stanford being Stanford and being great and whatever.

Well Jesse, after the Cardinal lost to unranked Southern California on Saturday night, how do they look to you now? Don’t worry about answering, I won’t be tuned in to hear it.

Quick hitters

Carlos Hyde had 246 yards and four touchdowns along with another touchdown through the air on Saturday. He will eclipse the 1000 yard mark this Saturday against Indiana in his last game at Ohio Stadium. It’s crazy to think about where his numbers could be if he hadn’t missed the first three cupcake games of the season due to suspension. I’d bet he’d at least be in the discussion for the Heisman trophy, if not a finalist.

We discussed Stanford a little bit earlier, can someone please tell me how these people are still being ranked in the top 10 despite having two losses to unranked teams? Oh that’s right, because when they play like Stanford… they lose to unranked teams. It makes no sense.

Speaking of making no sense, why are there still so many two loss SEC teams (and Stanford) ranked ahead of Michigan State who currently sits at 13th?

It was good to see Bradley Roby return an interception for a touchdown. He’s played better lately and hopefully this wil get his confidence soaring for the final two games and the Big Ten Championship.

Joey Bosa: Man-child

Speaking of the Big Ten Championship, the Buckeyes will punch their ticket to Indianapolis on Saturday with a win over the Hoosiers. While it seems like a formality, I ask you to remember back to 2012 when they weren’t allowed to participate. It’s a big deal and should be celebrated at least a little bit.

Michigan State is in the drivers seat in the Legends division after handling Nebraska on Saturday. The Spartans looked good, too, winning 41-28. A win over Northwestern this week or Minnesota next week and Sparty will be at Lucas Oil Stadium to meet the Buckeyes.

I wrote in the spring about how excited I was for Noah Spence and Adolphus Washington to start their reign of terror as bookend defensive nightmares in 2013. Who would have known that Spence would be doing exactly that except his opposite would be true freshman Joey Bosa who got a shot to play when Washington had a shoulder injury early on and hasn’t looked back since.

Wisconsin called the Buckeyes out by torching Indiana 51-3 last weekend. Now the Buckeyes get to see if they can match or better the Badgers onslaught.

Wrap it up

Just keep winning and things will work themselves out. It happens all the time, right? Right? RIGHT? Until next week, Go Bucks!

Metallica track of the week

One… one home game left for the seniors. One win away from clinching the Leaders division again and this time finally punching those tickets to Indianapolis for their first chance to play in the Big Ten Championship Game. It feel like I’m cheating by going with a classic, but so what! also, someone not really into the band told me this is the only Metallica song they have downloaded! So here it is, live from Sofia, Bulgaria, the incomparable One!

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/wednesday-night-rumble-winds-of-change.html/feed4Poll Position: Cowboy Uphttp://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/poll-position-cowboy-up.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=poll-position-cowboy-up
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/poll-position-cowboy-up.html#commentsWed, 20 Nov 2013 13:35:35 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=40443If the pundits and voters would only listen to us, they’d understand that the B1G is due some respect. With three teams in the latest tBBC Top Ten, the Legendary Leaders put one more than the ACC, PAC, B12, and SEC. (Not that we’re biased or anything) Pos. Team (1st Votes) LW 1 Florida State […]

If the pundits and voters would only listen to us, they’d understand that the B1G is due some respect.

With three teams in the latest tBBC Top Ten, the Legendary Leaders put one more than the ACC, PAC, B12, and SEC.

(Not that we’re biased or anything)

Pos.

Team (1st Votes)

LW

1

Florida State (5)

1

2

Alabama (4)

2

3

Ohio State (1)

3

4

Baylor

4

5

Oregon

6

6

Auburn

7

7

Michigan State

10

8

Oklahoma State

NR

9

Clemson

9

10 (tie)

Wisconsin/Stanford

NR/4

The biggest mover is the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who leap up to the eight spot right before they host Baylor on Saturday. Mike Gundy’s team worked Texas over on Saturday in preparation of facing the undefeated Bears.

Wisconsin also joins the Top 1o for the first time this season, tied with their two loss brothers who forgot to play Stanford Football again on Saturday.

Missouri and South Carolina also received votes this week.

Are we on the money or off base? In the comments, let us know what you think…

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/poll-position-cowboy-up.html/feed1The Week That Were: 11.16.13http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/the-week-that-were-11-16-13.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-week-that-were-11-16-13
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/the-week-that-were-11-16-13.html#commentsMon, 18 Nov 2013 12:54:41 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=40302In a week full of surprises, this is a pretty good soundtrack for your Monday morning reading. Sometimes life gives you some unexpected gifts. You’re set up on a date to be a wingman for a friend who’s girl has a cousin in town, and you end up in an amazing marriage together. You open […]

Sometimes life gives you some unexpected gifts. You’re set up on a date to be a wingman for a friend who’s girl has a cousin in town, and you end up in an amazing marriage together. You open a book and find an old letter from a friend that you’d forgotten about. A seldom worn jacket has cash in the pocket. Mowing the grass reveals a dog you’d forgotten you had. You let a friend borrow your truck and he has it detailed while he’s got it.

Emptying A Small Lake

On second thought, that last one probably means that he used it to transport a body or something. Let’s move on.

This week in college football was like that- on paper, there weren’t any marquee “games of the century”. But, as we know, games aren’t played on paper- instead the tiny men who square off in our TV sets gave us some fantastic finishes and an incredible weekend of sports.

Let’s start in the B12… We give Charlie Weis and the Jayhawk program a lot of well deserved grief hereabouts, so I’ll be among the first to celebrate their win over the couch fire that has become the West Virginia program. It’s hard to say that Coach Holgorsen might be in a bit of a rebuilding year, but it’s certainly difficult to see the Mountaineer program fall so quickly from the tops of the conference.

Ohio State fans are certainly well aware of the Baylor Bears, who now are poised to jump the Buckeyes in the “we’re still totally making this up as we go” BCS standings. Baylor continued their undefeated season with a big win over Texas Tech on Saturday, a Raiders team that was a media darling following a soft early season schedule, but has now dropped four straight games. What the #narrative won’t tell you as they tout Baylor’s 63-34 win is that the Bears were trailing 20-7 in the first quarter. But hey… shiny!

With all the firepower that the Bears bring to the table one of the surprises is that it was Tech that gave us our first “catch of the week” nominee. For another angle, check this out:

The “Game of the Week” for this coming Saturday (as far as Ohio State fans are concerned) will have to be Baylor traveling to Stillwater to face T. Boone Pickens’ University’s Fighting Gundys, who took the past Saturday to remind everyone that Mack Brown is probably not long for the sidelines in Austin.

Closer to home, Wisconsin continues to look like a team that should be in the top ten if they hadn’t been screwed by Pac12 officials. We know tons about the Badger offensive weaponry, but they held Indiana to three points in Madison this past week… something that Ohio State will be challenged to match this coming week. They face the resurgent Gopher team coming off of a bye… “That will be a great game”, said no one at the beginning of the year.

Yup.

As Ohio State continues to move toward Indianapolis, it looks more and more like they will be facing a Michigan State team that’s coming into it’s own and peaking at the right time. They’ve managed to discover their offense at the right time, and aren’t above even using the famous Dantonio bag of tricks to pull out a victory. The best part of the Spartans’ fake field goal on Saturday was the way that Coach dismissively called for three as the special teams trotted out for the attempt. That, combined with quarterback play that’s becoming more and more trustworthy, Michigan State will be a formidable test for the Buckeyes should they meet in the conference championship game… As someone who worries about everything, reading the thoughts of a reader certainly didn’t help at all.

Speaking of train wrecks, the Northwestern Wildcats and Michigan Wolverines played a triple overtime game on Saturday that involved no Wolverine touchdowns in regulation again. Two teams that were expected to be at the top of the conference’s offensive statistics have not shown the ability to punch their way out of wet paper bags this season… and that actually would have been a good thing in Evanston, as the game was being played midst the rainstorms that came through the midwest this weekend.

One set of kudos to Coach Hoke’s team- the were well prepared for the eventual game tying field goal attempt, and managed to beat the clock in order to send the game into extra periods.

The “Oh My Gawd” moment of the week came in the waning moments of Auburn’s victory over Georgia. To set the stage, the Tigers dominated the Bulldogs for the majority of the contest in spite of themselves, but Coach Richt’s team fought valiantly and had taken a lead late in the fourth quarter. Georgia’s defense had forced a fourth and long with less than two minutes left when our second “catch of the week” happened:

You can see the reaction of the staff and players on the sidelines in the GIF at the upper left there- A team that’s been decimated by injuries and started their season with a huge loss, you’ve got to wonder how UGA will respond and recover from this gut shot of a final. To be fair, they marched down to within long field goal range, but in the end fell just short.

While the Auburn catch above was amazing, it wasn’t the only game changer for the week- USF was down to Temple throughout their game and in jeopardy of losing their stranglehold on The American Athletic Conference’s title when our last entry for “catch of the week” inspired the team to right the ship and emerge with the victory:

Fun Fact- The State of Ohio has the three longest winning streaks in college football: D1 Ohio State with 22, D2 Ohio Dominican with 15, and D3 power Mount Union at 25 victories. Man, Ohio State doesn’t even have the longest undefeated run in the state…

The games that matter this week: TBPU and Baylor, Wisconsin and Minnesota, aTm and LSU, UCLA hosting Arizona State, and BYU traveling to Notre Dame for what’s sure to be a rigorous theological debate.

But, as fun as those will be to watch, none of them matter to Ohio State. It’s Señor Day and a potent Indiana team is coming to Columbus; a win assures a trip to the Big Ten Championship Game. That’s all that the team should focus on, and it’s all that they can control. We’ll have full coverage this week.

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/the-week-that-were-11-16-13.html/feed2Poll Position: Ducking Out Of The Top Spothttp://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/poll-position-ducking-out-of-the-top-spot.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=poll-position-ducking-out-of-the-top-spot
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/poll-position-ducking-out-of-the-top-spot.html#commentsTue, 12 Nov 2013 18:28:31 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=40092As everyone has told Buckeye fans all season long, “let the games play themselves out” and that they are. Another top unbeaten team has fallen and this time it was a biggie. Oregon was dominated for 54 minutes by Stanford last Thursday and have fallen out of the top spot. Not a lot else really […]

]]>As everyone has told Buckeye fans all season long, “let the games play themselves out” and that they are. Another top unbeaten team has fallen and this time it was a biggie.

Duck And Cover

Oregon was dominated for 54 minutes by Stanford last Thursday and have fallen out of the top spot. Not a lot else really went on this past weekend of note, as Alabama rolled over LSU as did FSU over Wake. The Buckeyes enjoyed their second bye week of the year and prepare to take on the final 3 regular season games.

Pos.

Team (1st Votes)

LW

1

Florida State (6)

2

2

Alabama (3)

3

3

Ohio State (1)

4

4

Baylor

5

5

Stanford

6

6

Oregon

1

7

Auburn

8

7

Missori

10

9

Clemson

9

10

Michigan State

NR

Others receiving votes: Texas A&M, South Carolina, Illinois (hey, we need all the help we can get)

Florida St takes over the top spot with a .2 margin over Alabama. Florida St will enjoy a week off while Alabama will travel to Mississippi St.

The only battle of ranked opponents this week is Georgia and Auburn. This is a big game for Auburn as they point towards their battle with the Crimson Tide on November 30th. As for the Buckeyes, they travel to Champaign to battle for the Illibuck trophy.

Stop back next week and see all the comings and goings of the Buckeye Battle Cry’s top ten!!

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/poll-position-ducking-out-of-the-top-spot.html/feed2The Week That Were: 11.09.13http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/the-week-that-were-11-09-13.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-week-that-were-11-09-13
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/the-week-that-were-11-09-13.html#commentsMon, 11 Nov 2013 17:51:52 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=39940Today’s soundtrack thanks our Veterans for all that they’ve done… Ok, class… time for a quiz. What did we learn this week? We learned that the template for beating Oregon has not changed. Control the ball and the clock with power running, Don’t turn the ball over, Take advantage of turnovers, and Hold on for […]

We learned that the template for beating Oregon has not changed. Control the ball and the clock with power running, Don’t turn the ball over, Take advantage of turnovers, and Hold on for dear life.

While this would seem to be the obvious solution to beating any team, Stanford has certainly shown that it’s a template for stopping one of the most powerful offenses in the country. By continuing to do so on Thursday night, the Cardinal looked like Ohio State and Auburn and LSU… and the Duck Dynasty were bumped off the path to the National Title game.

We also learned something that we should have already known; sometimes these are the most difficult of lessons. Even here at tBBC we’ve highlighted again and again that “Big Game Bob” is a myth, that other than a BCS game against UConn (not a difficult thing, no matter what Michigan fans will tell you) and some wins over Texas during their programmatic slide, the Sooners have not managed to win the big one at anywhere near a dominant success rate.

We’re Disappointed Too

Even this year they were embarrassed by a Texas Team that was searching for it’s identity, and have a “quality win” over a Texas Tech team who’s now dropped three in a row. We should have known better than to expect wonders from the team from Norman, but there Buckeye fans were, hoping that they’d handle a Baylor team that’s been setting scoreboards on fire.

We forgot that they have no downfield passing game, and their running game is predicated on a fullback at quarterback. And so, even though it looked close at the outset, we couldn’t be too surprised when Oklahoma collapsed in a heap of it’s own making.

And Baylor? Well, Baylor continues to look absolutely fabulous. With contests against TTU, TBPU and Texas upcoming in their season, the Bears are by no means shoo-ins for the conference title, but the path is pretty clear.

To be fair to the Longhorns, they’ve turned the season around and remained undefeated after their overtime win in the first Texas trip to Morgantown as a part of the new conference configuration. Judging by the responses on Shaggy Bevo, fans are somewhat torn by this turn of events- Winning is good, but how can they fire Mack if he manages to bring home a B12 Title this year?

The ruling? Not “targeting”, and the player can stay in the game. Looking at the two examples, my only comment is that it seems that the Oklahoma player lowers his head and avoids incidental contact with the Baylor player’s helmet. In the Roby situation, that didn’t happen, so Roby was ejected for something he had absolutely no control over.

Let’s play another round, this time from Saturday’s marquee matchup between LSU and Alabama. Again, review the Roby hit and then make the call- is this targeting?

Hmmmm… defenseless player, helmet to helmet contact, defender crouched to initiate the blow… Yup, no targeting. This SEC crew didn’t even do what the B12 refs did where they call the penalty and defer to the video review; they chose to let the players stay in the game. Perish the thought that the SEC game of the week be changed by such a decision.

I’m not pointing this out to say that I disagree with the new rule- again, I like that the NCAA is trying to protect the players, particularly given what we’re learning about CTE and brain injuries. What frustrates me is that, like most NCAA guidelines, it’s interpreted and enforced selectively depending upon who is involved. The B1G shouldn’t be the only conference with “When in doubt, kick them out” as their guiding principal- it removes any hope of a level playing field.

Elsewhere in the SEC, Vanderbilt destroyed Florida, in spite of some amazing athletic exhibitions by the Gators. I’m looking forward to the inevitable Bianchi article about how this is all Urban Meyer’s fault. Auburn continues to r0ll toward their Iron Bowl matchup of destiny with Alabama, while Johnny Freaking Football threw 5 touchdowns! And 3 interceptions, but hey… let’s not pay attention to that. #FactsAndStuff. Oh, and Georgia showed a certain northern school how Appalachian State should be dealt with.

Husker Do

This Saturday, I learned that watching Michigan lose to Nebraska while in TSUN and wearing a Husker shirt is pretty awesome, and that Wolverine fans have absolutely zero faith in Coach Borges’ ability to remove his cranium from certain orifices. Oh, and that this team is driving everyone to drink.

The Wolverines have amassed negative 61 yards rushing in the past two weeks, which shouldn’t be a surprise given that their quarterback has proven unable to complete a pass when he’s under any sort of pressure. You know, like the type offered by a stiff breeze.

It feels as if Coach Pelini has managed to stave off calls for his termination, at least for this year. Even though there’s still areas that might need some additional attention, the team is playing within their limitations and are thriving in spite of significant injury issues. Like Mack Brown, it’s been really impressive what his team has managed when left for dead… and now, they get to face the Spartans after MSU’s bye week. Can Pelini’s squad pull off the upset? It’s in Lincoln, so who knows… but Ohio State needs to face a one loss MSU team in Indy rather than the Huskers… and my marriage would appreciate a year’s respite from the tension of a “house divided” moment.

Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

It could, though, be Minnesota that makes it to the B1G Championship Game for their division. The Gophers seem to be, on a limited viewing, similar to Iowa with better players at the skill positions. They easily handled Penn State this past weekend, and won a trophy so cherished, so significant that they immediately broke it. The conference’s “feel good” story of the season, it’s good to see them making the most of their moment and finding ways to fight to the post season dance.

Elsewheres in the Bee One Gee, Ohio State’s next two opponents squared off with Indiana prevailing in what can be called a “defense optional” game. Purdue managed to score twice against Iowa in a loss, but hey… baby steps. Wisconsin went out of conference for a Beehive State grudge match of sorts- the Badgers’ new coach managed to knock off his former nemesis at BYU.

Florida State’s huge win against Miami last week is starting to look less and less impressive; the Hurricanes fell to Virginia Tech at home, disappointing all of their fan. While the game was played in a rainstorm (a downfall of following a team named after a meterological entity- who could have known?), it’s also important to remember that Miami’s starting running back went down for the season against FSU. I’m sure that people will remember this at the end of the season the same way that Northwestern is now a drag on Ohio State’s strength of schedule.

The Mighty Fighting Irish have lost another game and their dignity, as Mark May’s alma mater gives him bragging rights over Lou Holtz. If “bragging rights” doesn’t also come with a spit screen, then it’s worthless, IMHO.

While Fresno State and Northern Illinois remain undefeated, one time ESPN favorite Louisville has officially not even won their conference. Central Florida moved into first place in The American, and holds the tiebreaker over Teddy Bridgewater’s team after their head to head victory earlier this season.

Out on the Left Coast, the Southern Cal resurgence continues as Cal drops further and further from being anything remotely able to help the Buckeyes’ strength of schedule.

But Their Band Is Good

Even their fans, who weren’t really all that punctual and invested to begin with, have given up on the team, it seems.

The coming week has a few interesting matchups, including Michigan being underdogs to winless in the conference Northwestern and Indiana traveling to Wisconsin. Georgia and Auburn are a key SEC game, while TBPU heads to Austin. The Pac12 game to keep an eye on has a Trojan team looking to catch Stanford in a letdown matchup.

With four weeks left in the college football season, many folks are upset with where Ohio State currently sits in the rankings. Personally, I’m of two opinions on the matter- Going to the Rose Bowl is an amazing opportunity, and shouldn’t be seen as a “consolation” of any sorts. Secondly, all the Buckeyes can do is what they can do; play well and win the games that they’re playing in, and let the rest of the teams take care of themselves.

As we just witnessed this week, in college football every week there’s a chance for more of this across the top 25: